What counts as intrusive thoughts?

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I've got a lot of compulsions. Don't know if they've got anything to do with OCD or not. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out if I've got intrusive thoughts as well but I don't really get it.

If I walk behind a parent holding a baby I worry that I'll somehow trip the parent so that he or she will fall and the baby will get hurt. Even if I'm walking several meters behind them. If I walk down stairs I often see this "picture" of me falling down the stairs knocking out my teeth. If I'm on a balcony I often think about jumping down (even though I'd never do it since I'm not suicidal) or throwing my phone off the balcony. Sometimes I also struggle quite a bit with thinking I will go to hell.

Are these intrusive thoughts or just "normal" worries?

EDIT: Changed from "obsessive thoughts" to "intrusive thoughts."

They're called "intrusive thoughts" and are common in people with OCD. I've struggled with them a lot throughout my life. They used to be really bad before I went on medication for my more severe psychiatric symptoms. The most common intrusive thought I get is that every time I'm around household objects about an inch wide/long or smaller, I picture myself swallowing it and having it get stuck in my throat. I have a phobia of choking, so that's probably where it originated from. When I was younger, those intrusive thoughts were so intense that I couldn't handle coins out of fear that I'd act on my thoughts.

OP, look up Purely Obsessional OCD, also known as Pure-O.

I thought it was normal
Something like anticipating what can happen?

But apparently I am not completely "normal"

Helle

Or, like now, I was just in the kitchen and I walked by the place where we keep sharp knifes and then this picture/thought of me slitting my left wrist popped into my head. What the heck?

I get similar intrusive thoughts like that . . . when I see a knife, I see a weapon and sometimes imagine hurting myself or other people. I talked to my psychiatrist about this (because it worried me.) She said it was common - that thoughts are not actions and I don't need to be afraid of them.

I struggle with this as well. I often have intrusive thoughts of hurting my pets or my parents. It really upsets me, but my therapist knows about it and has reassured me that they really are just thoughts, not actions. The fact that I'm upset over it proves that I'd never actually do it.

I just want to add that EVERYONE gets intrusive thoughts. It's only OCD when you are greatly distressed by the intrusive thoughts and when the intrusive thoughts are occurring one hour or more per day. It's totally normal to have bizarre thoughts every now and then. But if you are having intense anxiety over these thoughts and/or need to do something to alleviate the anxiety from the "bad" thought, that's when it could be OCD. I have had OCD since my preschool years, and I have intrusive thoughts many times a day, EVERY day. That is NOT common. Neurotypicals get fleeting intrusive thoughts here and there, but it's not a problem because of how it doesn't happen all that frequently.

I'm having problems with intrusive thoughts myself. I can't even see a child without sexual thoughts coming into my head. I usually have to imagine them wearing chasity belts to feel a little better.

I, too, used to struggle with intrusive thoughts, and still do. When I was about 13 - 14, an offensive word or phrase would pop into my head for no reason at all, and I would worry that I would blurt it out and make everyone mad....that never actually happened, but I still fretted about it, and still do at age 20, to some extent.

I have considered the possibility of my having some OCD (in fact, when I take other quirks of mine into account, I'm sure I have some) but always ended up discounting it bcuz I don't do the handwashing and the checking several times to make sure I've locked my door, etc. But I do think I have some intrusive thoughts that started in my early teens.

My intrusive thoughts are really bad when I'm stressed. I think about bashing people's heads and ripping their brains out of their skulls. Or strangling myself when I put a scarf on. Or grabbing a kitchen knife and plunging it into my guts. Or slipping in the shower and obliterating my skull. Or falling off a curb and being run over by several cars. Or accidentally setting fire to my hairspray and setting my head on fire. You get the idea.

Those sound exactly like intrusive thoughts--and I think one of the big differences is the anxiety that comes with intrusive thoughts.

Like--I might watch a documentary on how the world is heating up--and think "oh, that would suck if the world heated up and we all die." And then go on with my day--that's not an intrusive thought....somehow, I can tell that that has nothing to do with me and it's just speculation.

But intrusive thoughts really feel intrusive--and deeply personal, as if the event is going on at that moment.

I have trouble understanding that "normal people" have them--because I didn't have them before puberty....maybe I just had them rarely enough that I considered them fears or something.

I get really weird ones too. Like--I'll be walking on the beach and see a rock and imagine what if that rock was lodged in my neck? Not even swallowed--but just, somehow got stuck in there. And it feels very uncomfortable. Or I imagine that I'm being tortured--it's pretty illogical.

Or--I get the visions like you described, OP. I see a child and think about how the child might fall on the ground, knock out it's teeth, and I might accidentally step on it's head...and how horrible that would be.

Sometimes it's something as ridiculous as seeing my favorite plant, and imagining it trampled. I tried to tell my counselor--but I don't think people who don't have this kind of problem understand how uncomfortable it really is. I'd like to be able to look at my favorite plant and be happy--not imagine it getting trampled. It really takes some of the enjoyment out of life.

Sometimes I get them a lot--and sometimes I can go through a few months where they mostly go away.

I used to think it meant I was a "bad" person for thinking those things--but since I found out it was just intrusive thoughts, I've felt better--I think they've actually gotten better since I realized what they were.

Recently I've been experimenting with trying to replace (or fill my head) with positive thoughts--but that hasn't worked that well yet. Like--if I see a child and feel the anxiety coming (because by now I've gotten used to certain triggers) I try to imagine some kind of positive image--like how the child will grow up to be a scholar or something.

Alcohal and pain killers make them go away--but that's not something I want to ruin my life with. Edit: and I don't encourage anyone to deal with them that way either--with intrusive thoughts you feel like your life is out of control, when it's really not. With those substance addictions your life actually IS out of control--and it's not a good thing.